The present invention relates generally to needlepoint devices, and more particularly to such a device which aids in completing a needlepoint pattern quickly, accurately and efficiently.
Needlework art, practiced by millions of persons of all ages, is growing both in direct proportion to the increase of population and the increasing proportion of elderly people. A basic essential of the art's application is a pattern in the form of Cartesian coordinate-arranged small symbols indicating required yarn or "floss" color and location of required needle insertion points. Conventionally, a suitable needlepointing fabric is tautly assembled to a "scroll frame" designed to allow fabric to be progressively exposed for needlepointing. The frame is usually ether mounted to a free-standing holding device or maintained in the lap. The pattern is usually either clipped to the scroll frame holder or the scroll frame itself or placed on a table alongside the person.
Basically, the needlepointing cycle involves "look" and "do". The person looks at the pattern to determine the required floss color and point of insertion of the floss-threaded needle through the frame-mounted fabric. The person then inserts the needle through the fabric and, as required floss changes, cuts and ties the floss on the under surface of the fabric. Conventionally, the look portion of the needlepointing cycle takes between ten and thirty percent of the time, depending mainly on the person's age and physical condition. Moreover, the eye and neck strain attendant to looking and making sure that the pattern is being read properly both reduces the pleasure of the art and limits its application.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a needlepoint and which will reduce to a minimum the effort required to read needlepoint patterns during the needlepointing function, i.e., discern the required floss colors and points of needle insertion through the fabric. It is a further object of the invention to provide such an aid which incorporates a needlepoint pattern display device which easily attaches to conventional fabric-mounting scroll frames of all sizes and which is maneuverable with minimal effort to generally have a minimum required distance between the pattern and the needlepointing position. Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device which incorporates, upon its pattern display device, a pattern detail visual guiding device, which advantageously minimizes eye and neck strain and hence errors when reading the pattern. Yet still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device which reduces fatigue and cycle time of present needlepoint art, while at the same time increasing its pleasure.